Selecting the right material for an application is key to the successful commercialization of a product. Elastomeric components are now widely produced from thermoplastic elastomers, TPEs. Selecting the better candidates and grades to work on for optimizing a part application is complicated by the wide range of TPEs now commercially available. New TPE grades are being introduced on a regular basis and understanding the primary issues that drive the material selection process for TPEs will facilitate the process of material selection. There are three basic classes of TPEs available with varying chemistry within the classes. The environmental and mechanical requirements will drive the process to select the right TPE and there will likely be candidates to consider from each of the classes. TPEs can be categorized by the basic polymer structure for them and these are:
1. Block copolymers
2. Blends
3. Reactive alloys
These TPE classes include various chemical structure types. The more common TPE types include:
1. SBC styrenic TPEs